


The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by christos200



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adaptation, Adventure, Best Friends, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Detectives, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Investigations, Justice, Major Original Character(s), Modern Era, Murder, Murder Mystery, Murderers, Mystery, Original Character(s), Police, Police Procedural, Private Investigators, Sherlock Holmes & John Watson Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-09-30 16:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17227808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christos200/pseuds/christos200
Summary: A modern update of the Sherlock Holmes story. When doctor John Watson becomes roommate with an eccentric private consultant named Sherlock Holmes, his boring life changes dramatically. The two friends assist Captain Thomas Gorman and Lieutenant Lilian Morse of the Homicide Division of the Sacramento Police Department in their investigations and bring to justice dangerous criminals. [Collection of different crime stories]





	1. The Art of Deduction - Part 1

Sacramento, California

It was a sunny Monday morning. A young man, in his late twenties, walked into Horatio's Café. That tiny café huddled despondent among the huge city buildings. The interior of the café was warm and cheery, with bright lights and colorful walls. The man that had just entered was tall, with dark skin and dark eyes. He was handsome, slim, muscular, with an almost perfectly symmetrical face and shaved hair. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

"Hello, Horatio," he said with a smile on his face. "Bring me some coffee please. The usual."

"Good morning, John," Horatio replied. Horatio was in his early thirties. He was slim, with blue eyes and light beard. He was wearing a green shirt and red trousers. He had opened this Café only a month ago, thus he did not have many costumers yet. Aside from John, there was only a couple and a lone guy at the Café. It was certainly not good for his finance. "As you can see, I've got lot of work here..." Horatio said with a smirk on his face. His self-depreciating humor helped him cope with the problems of running the Café.

"Ah, don't worry... I am sure that things will get better", John said. "Last week you had almost no costumers at all. Now you have a few."

"So, how is your search for an apartment going?"

John smiled. "I am going to see one right now, actually. An old friend texted me yesterday that an acquaintance of his is looking for a roommate to rent together an apartment. So, I will be meeting him today."

"Do you know anything about this guy?"

John thought for a moment. "What is his name...? Ah yes, Sherlock! Sherlock Holmes is his name. He came here from London. My friend told me that this Sherlock guy is a bit eccentric at times but that we would get along. He met him at a party when he was studying in the UK for his major in psychology."

Horatio handed John his coffee and asked, "How eccentric? Hopefully not like your last roommate..."

John sighed. "I don't want to be reminded of her... But fortunately this Sherlock will not be that bad. He is a private detective or something like that."

"Cool!" Horatio exclaimed. "It will be like living with Shawn from Psych or Patrick Jane from The Mentalist."

"You watch too many TV shows... I doubt this guy deals with such stuff."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John entered the third apartment on the second floor. The apartment seemed fine to John, although it did lack much furniture. The floor was polished concrete and the walls white. There was a bookshelf, a brown couch and a small, wooden table. As he was inspecting the apartment, another man walked into the room.

"Hello," that man said. "I am Sherlock Holmes. You must be Dr. John Watson?"

"Indeed," John said as he inspected the man standing in front of him. Sherlock was in his early thirties. He was lean and tall. He had shaggy brown hair, light beard and green eyes. He was wearing a brown tweed suit with a dark red tie. "I am glad to meet you."

"Don't worry, I surely will not be as bad as your last roommate!", Sherlock said, leaving John astounded. He hadn't told anyone aside from Horatio and a few other close friends about his last roommate.

"How did you know that?"

"I also know that you are planning to run a neighborhood medical practice, if you do not already do so. You specialize in internal medicine and are a general practitioner. You are also a fan of Star Wars."

John shook his head in disbelief. "Did you do a research on me?"

Sherlock laughed. "No. I was able to deduce all that from inspecting you and your reactions. For a start, you inspected me thoroughly. The most likely reason for that was that your last roommate wasn't a pleasant fellow and thus you are somewhat suspicious of roommates. This apartment is not near a hospital, so you must not be working in one. I thus guessed that you are already running or plan to run a neighborhood medical practice. The rest was thus easy to deduce. As for you being a Star Wars fan, well you do wear a shirt with Han Solo on it... If you want to know more about my methods, you can read my post titled 'The Art of Deduction' in my personal website."

"Wow, you really are like Shawn from Psych..."

"I don't really know who that Shawn fellow is, but if he is a private detective of high intellect with excellent observation skills working as a consultant for a police department, then you are right in comparing him to me."

"You are also modest..."

Sherlock smiled. "I am just stating the facts. I have a high level of intellectual ability and my observation skills are second to none. False modesty is hypocritical. I prefer being frank."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "So, John, I like sometimes to play the violin. It helps me think. I used to do drugs but not anymore. I like to stay awake late at night and study. I also bring home body parts of corpses from the morgue from time to time in order to conduct experiments. If none of those habits of mine are problematic to you, shall you agree to be my roommate?"

"Body parts..." John repeated. Although as a doctor he was used to this kind of stuff, still, bringing body parts in one's home seemed somewhat strange and disgusting to John. Yet, he did not want to turn down this deal. The apartment seemed fine and Sherlock, despite being somewhat eccentric, seemed a nice enough fellow, especially compared to his last roommate. "Well, I guess we are roommates then."

"Excellent!"

At that moment Sherlock's phone ringed. Someone had texted him a message. As soon as he read it, Sherlock laughed and was barely able to contain his excitement. "It's a murder!"

John gaped in astonishment at Sherlock's reaction to a murder. "Are you a psychopath or on drugs?"

"No! I am bored! Or rather, I was bored. You see, I need to keep my mind occupied. I need to challenge myself, to solve puzzles. It has been almost two weeks since I last had a case, so of course I am excited that my deductive skills are finally needed."

John sighed. "The most amazing thing is that you are still saner than my last roommate..."

"So, are you coming with me?"

"What? Coming where?"

"To the crime scene!"

"You must be kidding, right?", John asked. "Why should I go to a crime scene?"

"Do you have anything better to do?"

"No..."

"So come on! It will be fun. Plus, you are a doctor, so you may be helpful with my investigation."

John sighed. "Alright, I will be coming with you. But only for this one time."

"Excellent!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sherlock and John took a taxi and soon arrived to their destination; a grey three storey high building. A police car, with its blue and red lights on, was parked outside the building. The two men walked into the building and headed to the second apartment of the first floor. As they walked into the room, two police officers greeted them. The first was Thomas Gorman, head of the Homicide Division of the Sacramento Police Department. A lean middle aged man, he was wearing black suite and trousers and a brown tie. His hair and mustache were brown and his eyes green. The second officer was Lieutenant Lilian Morse. She was tall, with an athletic body, curly hair and blue eyes. Lilian was in her early thirties.

"Good morning Captain Thomas and Lieutenant Lilian," Sherlock said.

"Morning freak," Lilian nonchalantly replied without taking her gaze away from the crime scene.

"Hello, Sherlock. Who is this guy?", Thomas said, pointing at John.

"He is Dr. John Watson, a friend of mine," Sherlock replied. "We are roommates."

"You found someone who can stand you and your antics?", Lilian asked.

Sherlock ignored the comment and went on to inspect the corpse of a young woman lying on the floor. John exclaimed, 'My God!", when he saw the corpse and the pool of blood on the floor. Although as a doctor he had seen corpses before, he had not been in a crime scene before and this was totally different for him.

"Her name was Johanna Stern," Lilian said. "Cause of death was trauma on the head, caused by a sharp object; most likely a knife. The window is broken, so the killer may have entered from there. There is no DNA of the killer in the crime scene nor are there fingertips; the killer must have been wearing gloves. Jewelry and money are missing, so this is most likely a burglary gone wrong."

"John, can you examine the trauma at the head and estimate time of death?", Sherlock asked.

"Sure," John replied. He wasn't pleased with this task but he wanted to be of use to the police. The sooner this criminal could be caught, the better. John examined carefully the wound and said, "The Lieutenant is right; this trauma was certainly caused by a knife. Time of death must be around midnight."

"So, what is your take on this?", Thomas asked. "It is a burglary?"

"No," Sherlock replied. "I do not think the killer broke through the window. There is no broken glass inside the apartment. If the killer had entered through the window, there would have been broken glass all over the place. Instead, the broken glass seems to have fallen down on the street. The killer must have broken the window from the inside once the victim was dead in order to give us the impression that this was a burglary. This is the reason why the jewelry and money are missing too. If the killer entered through the front door, and that is the most likely scenario, it means that the victim knew the killer. She wouldn't have let anyone enter into her apartment, I presume. So the one who killed Miss Stern must have been an acquaintance of her. I want a list of all her family members, friends, boyfriends, coworkers. The killer must belong to one of those categories."

"Will text you the list as soon as possible," Thomas said. "While we do that, why don't you go check the place where she worked? She worked in a shopping mall only a few blocks away from here. Maybe her coworkers there will give you some more info. I and Lilian will be talking to her family and try to learn if she had any troubles."

Sherlock nodded in agreement. He then turned to John and said, "Shall we get going?"

"Where?"

"To solve the case of course!"

John sighed. "Well, I don't have anything better to do, so let's go. "

"Do we really need him for this case?" Lilian asked as soon as Sherlock and John left. "It isn't the crime of the century. It is a run-of-the-mill case. We can solve it on our own."

"I know you don't like working with Sherlock but you know that he gets the work done in no time and he is of great help to us."

"I know..."


	2. The Art of Deduction - Part 2

Sherlock and John walked into the shopping mall where Johanna Stern worked. The ceiling was domed high and made of the most beautiful glass. The place was overcrowded. Sherlock resented all this crowd; he preferred quiet. John, on the other hand, couldn't stop checking out several stores, much to the annoyance of Sherlock. It had been a long time since he had last gone to a shopping mall.

"Come on!" Sherlock shouted. "We do not have all day!"

"Since we are here, why not see if there is anything to buy?" John asked. "This place has everything!"

"We are here investigating a murder, not for shopping."

Sherlock walked forward as fast as he could, leading the way. John followed closely behind. They were heading to the workplace of Johanna. They walked into a store selling athletic shoes. A young female employee approached them with a smile on her face and said, "Welcome. How can I help you?"

"Firstly, I can tell that your smile is a forced one, though I do not blame you. I too wouldn't be too happy if I had to work here every day," Sherlock said. "Secondly, my name is Sherlock Holmes and he is my... associate Dr. John Watson. We are with the Homicide Division of the Sacramento Police Department and are investigating the murder of Johanna Stern. We know she worked here."

The woman's face became ashen white and she was reduced to tears. "Poor Johanna..."

John sighed. "I will cry too!"

"Why?" Sherlock wondered.

"I can't help it. I am a sympathetic crier." John's eyes became glazed with a glassy layer of tears.

"Oh come on! We have work to do!" Sherlock protested. Sherlock then turned to the woman and asked, "You knew Miss Stern? Also, care to tell us what is your name?"

"My name is Mary Mulligan. Yes, I did know Johanna. We are- I mean we were friends..."

"Do you know why anyone would want to hurt her?"

"No. I do not think anyone had any reason to harm her."

Sherlock thought for a moment before asking the next question; "Do you think she may have upset anyone? Did she have any troubles you know of?"

Mary paused for a moment. She looked to the right and touched her face for a few seconds before replying. "No... I cannot think of anything. She was a nice person; people liked her."

"You are lying!" Sherlock exclaimed. "Not about people liking Miss Stern or that you believe that she was a nice person. You are lying about her not having any troubles."

"You can tell that just by looking at her?" John asked.

"Yes. She looked to the right for a moment. When right handed people lie, they look to the right; this allows them to access their imagination and invent an answer. I can tell from her hands that Miss Mulligan here is a right handed person. Also, she touched her face. A chemical reaction causes people's faces to itch when they lie."

"That is so cool!" John said. "Horatio is right. It is as if I am starring in Psych or the Mentalist. You are Shawn and I am Gus! Or you are Jane and I am... Rigsby!"

Sherlock sighed. "I don't know who all those guys are, but I am pretty sure that they have nothing to do with our current investigation. Can you please focus on the issue at hand?"

He then asked Mary, "So, in what kind of trouble was Miss Stern in?"

Mary hesitated for a moment before replying. "Johanna was a nice girl but... she cheated a lot on her boyfriend. Once, her boyfriend had found out and they had a fight. He hit her. They eventually got back together and she promised not to cheat again on him."

"But she did!" Sherlock said, interrupting her. "So, you believe that her boyfriend may have been angry enough to murder her?"

"Well, he did get violent with her once..."

"Why didn't you tell us about all this before?", John asked. "This information could be crucial in solving the case."

"I didn't want people to know about Johanna's affairs. I was afraid of how people would judge her."

"Miss," Sherlock said, "I am pretty sure that Miss Stern would much rather if you aided us find her murderer rather than shutting up so a few people wouldn't gossip about her. Finding a killer is more important."

Mary nodded in agreement.

"Can you tell us the name of her boyfriend?" John asked.

"Gary. Gary Jackson."

"Gary Jackson?" John repeated.

"Yes. Do you know him?"

"I went to medical school with a guy named Gary Jackson. If he is that Gary Jackson, then he may indeed be our killer."

"What makes you say that?" Sherlock asked.

"Back in medical school, there was gossip that this Gary beat up his girlfriend because he thought she cheated on him."

"Well, then we should pay a visit to Gary."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sherlock and John took a taxi to the address where Gary was living. His house was a square grey building, with narrow windows. Sherlock rushed to the front door and ringed the bell. John was less excited. He walked right behind, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with questioning a suspected killer.

"Shouldn't we call the police?" John asked. "If this guy is the killer, he may try to kills us if we confront him."

"We are with the police, remember?" Sherlock replied. "Also, we do not have time to waste. The faster we solve the case, the better. I must be the one to solve the case!"

Sherlock ringed again the bell but there was no response. "He must not be inside!" he remarked. "That is even better. We can break in and see if there are any clues as to whether he is our murderer or not."

John laughed in disbelief before realizing that Sherlock was serious about this. "You must be kidding, right? I am not going to break into the house of a suspected murderer. I do not want to end up dead."

"Just a few moments ago you were excited about how 'cool' my job is. Now you chicken out?"

"Look, I am a doctor. I am not a detective. Hell, I only met you today."

Sherlock sighed. "Fine. I will do this on my own. You can leave."

As he was about to leave, John's phone ringed. He picked it up. It was Horatio calling him.

"Hey, dude, how was the apartment you were going to look?" Horatio asked.

"Fine. My roommate too seems fine. A bit eccentric-"

"I am not eccentric!" Sherlock protested. "I am merely a genius. Common people find geniuses eccentric because their intellectual inferiority does not allow them to understand them."

"Is that the cool detective you were talking about?" Horatio asked.

"Yes..." John replied and sighed. "I was following him in his investigation of a murder but now I am leaving. This guy wants to break into the house of a suspected murderer. Can you believe him?"

"Dude, that sounds awesome! It's like a movie. If you are not going with him, I will. Tell him to wait for me and give me the address."

"What? You've got to be kidding me! You want to put your life at risk because you want to feel like a movie hero?"

"See? Other people would love to be able to accompany me," Sherlock said, "but you want to miss this opportunity to live a real adventure. Fine! Return back to your boring, mundane life. When you get old and can no longer live an adventure, you will look back at this moment and sigh, thinking about the opportunity you missed. You will have done nothing with your life and be just another boring person."

John thought about it for a moment. "Will call you later," he said to Horatio. "I know I will regret this but I will be coming with you. For this one time only though. But if anything happens to me, you will get punched in the face."

"Excellent!" Sherlock exclaimed. "Now, shall we try to get this door to open?"

Sherlock pulled a bobby pin from his pocket. He pulled it open and striped off the knobs. He then bend the tip in the lock to make a pick. He folded the other end onto itself to make a handle. Sherlock then grabbed a second bobby pin from his pocket and bend it in half to make a lever. He quickly inserted the second bobby pin into the bottom part of the lock. He then used the pins to pick the lock.

"Simple, isn't it?" he asked.

John gaped in amazement. "Wow, now that is some good lock picking skills."

"Thank you for your compliment but we should get going. We do not want to wait until Mr. Jackson arrives, do we?"

The inside of the house was untidy. There were a few baskets with dirty clothes. In the brown couch in the center of the room there were traces of food and beer cans. There was also a stench of garbage.

"My God!", John exclaimed. "This place is in a mess."

Sherlock ignored John and went ahead to examine the other rooms of the house. In a few minutes, he returned to the main hall where John was waiting for him.

"I think we can be pretty sure that Mr. Jackson did not kill Miss Stern."

"How do you know that?"

"Look at this place!", Sherlock said as he pointed at the messy room. "I can tell that the food and the beer cans were here from yesterday. Mr. Jackson most likely spent his time here, eating and drinking. Also the untidiness of his house speaks volumes about his character. This man is someone who might be violent but is certainly not a careful or patient planner nor does he seem like a bright guy, if I judge by the lack of any books in this house and his habits, which seem to be confined only to eating and drinking. It doesn't seem he is doing some other, more productive, activity in his spare time."

"You are right. He did drop out of the medical school in his first year," John said. "I was surprised he even got into the school in the first place."

"The murderer tried to throw off the police by making it look like it was a burglary gone wrong. He also made sure to not leave any traces behind. The murderer is a smart, organized person. Mr. Jackson can thus be eliminated from our pool of suspects."

"You think I ain't smart?!" a man angrily asked.

Sherlock and John turned around to see a tall muscular young man wearing blue shirt and jeans. "What the hell are you doing in my house?!" he shouted.

"He sure is fit for a guy eating junk food all the time..." John whispered. He then put up a smile. "Hey, Gary! It's me, John. John Watson. Don't you remember me from the first year in medical school?"

"No!" Gary said. "But I do know that you will remember me for a long time after I beat you up!"

"Hold on!" Sherlock said. "I am Sherlock Holmes. I and Dr. Watson are with the Homicide Division of the Sacramento Police Department. We are investigating into the murder of Johanna Stern."

"Good riddance!" Gary exclaimed. "I just found out that this bitch was again cheating on me."

"Man, don't you have any compassion at all?" John asked.

Sherlock whispered, "Do you really want to enrage this guy? He may not be our murderer, but he sure is violent..."

"Do you have warrant to search my property?"

"Well..."

Before Sherlock could finish his sentence, Gary punched him on the face. Sherlock fell on the ground; his nose had been broken and was bleeding. John was screaming like a little girl and trying to make his way out of the house when Gary grabbed him by his shirt and punched him on the chest.

"If you ever, ever trespass my property again, I will beat you unconscious!"

"Don't worry..." Sherlock said after taking a deep breath. "We shall not bother you again. Have a nice day."

He and John then rushed out of the house as fast as they could.

"Hey, can't you charge him with attacking an officer of the law?" John asked. "I mean, you are not a police officer but you are working with the police as a consultant."

"Do you really want us to mention to Captain Gorman that we broke into the house of an innocent man and searched it without a warrant?"

"I guess not..."

"Well, we will have to call the Captain and ask him about how his questioning of Miss Stern's family went. He must have also prepared the list with all known associates of Miss Stern. We shall then go speak to Miss Mulligan again. Since she knew about the deceased's affairs, she must know who her last lovers were. The murderer may be one of them. "

"What makes you think I will continue following you around?"

"The fact that you haven't left yet," Sherlock replied. "If you really wanted to leave, you would have done so already. You may like to think that you prefer a quite, mundane life but in fact you desire adventure. You want to be a hero like the ones starring in the TV shows you watch."

John sighed. "Damn, you sure know how to read people..."


	3. The Art of Deduction - Part 3

Sherlock and John were back to the shopping mall. Sherlock had already called Captain Thomas and been informed regarding his conversation with the deceased's parents. According to the Captain, neither parent told him that Johanna was in any sort of trouble. The Captain had also texted Sherlock a list with all known close acquaintances of Johanna Stern. The list included known friends, relatives and her boyfriend, who had already been dismissed as a suspect.

"So, when are you going to look into that list?" John asked as the two of them were walking towards the store.

"Later, when we are at home and I can research on the laptop. I want to do a thorough research on all those people and I cannot do so right now," Sherlock replied. "Also, we must first find out who the last lover of Miss Stern was. I believe that he may have something to do with the murder."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, most of the time the killer is either the husband, boyfriend or lover," Sherlock said. "In my spare time I study crime statistics. Such statistics, while by no means always accurate, help direct the investigation and save us time. Investigation is a science, Watson!"

As they were heading to the store, John reluctantly decided to ask his new roommate if he could tell him more about himself. "Sherlock, if we are going to work together on this case, I need to know more about you," John said. "You do not need to tell me personal stuff, but we should try to get to know each other, since we are going to be roommates after all."

Sherlock ignored John and walked forward. As John was about to say something, Sherlock turned around and said, "I am not really good at talking about myself. I am also not fond of sharing my life story with others. There isn't really much to tell anyway. I am just a private detective investigating crimes. That is all that one needs to know about me. .. What about you?"

"What about me?"

Sherlock smirked. "Since you are so talkative and want us to get to know each other, why don't you tell me more about your life?"

John scratched his head for a moment. "I am just a regular guy really. I am single, I love watching movies and read fanfics online and I want to open a neighborhood medical practice."

"I know all that already. Why don't you tell me more about your last roommate?"

"She... she certainly was something. We-" John stopped talking and let out a sigh. He had no wish to tell more.

"See? Talking about one's self is not all that pleasant. Now, shall we get back to solving our case?"

John sighed but nodded in agreement. Soon the two friends found themselves in the store. Sherlock approached Mary and greeted her. "Greetings Miss Mulligan. I will need to ask you another question."

"Oh my! What happened to your nose?" Mary asked, pointing at the detective's broken nose.

"An unfortunate casualty in my quest to find the murderer. Miss Mulligan, do you happen to know who was the last lover of Miss Stern was? Please do tell us if you know his name."

Mary hesitated for a moment. "Johanna did not speak much about who she was seeing but she did tell me that she was having an affair with someone named Lex."

"Do you remember his family name?"

"No... I believe she told me once his nickname but I cannot remember it right now."

"Let me handle this," John said to Sherlock. He then turned to Mary and said, "Relaxation allows people to remember things more clearly. The brain is influenced by 'theta waves', which are associated with relaxation. I know a breathing technique that allows people to relax. So I want you to follow my instructions and clear your mind of all other thoughts."

"If you think that this will help in bringing Johanna's murderer to justice, fine," Mary replied, not truly convinced that this 'relaxation technique' would allow her to remember Lex's nickname.

"Are you sure about that?" Sherlock whispered.

"Yes. You need to trust me, alright? I am not here just to follow you around; I can actively help in this investigation."

"I hope so..."

John took deep breaths, through the nose, and Mary followed his example. During the inhalation, their diaphragm moved downwards. They then exhaled, moving up their diaphragm, compressing their lungs and pushing the air out.

"That's right..." John said. "Now, focus on Lex. Try to remember your conversations with Johanna about him. Do not think too hard though. Let your subconscious reach to your memories. They will come to you gradually."

"I do remember...!" Mary exclaimed. "His nickname is... Ro...Roth...Robeck. Yes, that's his nickname! Robeck."

"See?" John said to Sherlock with a smug smile on his face. "Without me, you wouldn't have been able to get that nickname."

"It seems that you may indeed be useful after all... Where did you learn that technique?"

"It was a trick a friend of mine had taught me back in medical school in order to remember stuff for the exams."

"Interesting..." Sherlock said. He then said to Mary, "Thank you for your assistance Miss Mulligan. We must get going. We have a murderer to catch! Have a nice day."

"Good luck with your investigation."

As they left behind them the store Sherlock said, "I will be returning to the apartment to look into this Lex as well as to do research on the people on the list the Captain texted me. What will you be doing?"

"I will be getting my car from the repair shop, so we will not be needing to take a taxi all the time. I will also be passing by Horatio's Café, so I will be coming to the apartment in a few hours."

"Good. That will give me the quiet I need to do my research."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John walked into Horatio's Café. He had just taken his car from the repair shop and he stopped by to say hi to his friend and buy some coffee. "Bring some coffee, please!" he said as soon as he entered the café. The café was empty; John was the only costumer. He had no idea how Horatio was managing to keep afloat his café with so few costumers.

"At last a costumer!" Horatio exclaimed. "Of course it would be great if there was another costumer aside from you visiting this place in evening but we can't have everything, can we?"

"Don't worry, things will come around. You just need to relax."

Horatio sighed. "Spare me this 'relaxation' crap. Being relaxed does not bring costumers. Nor does it pay the bills... So, how did your investigation with this Sherlock guy go?"

John grinned. "Fine. In fact, we've got a new lead; all thanks to me."

"You are modest as always, I see."

"You should see this Sherlock; if you spent a few hours with him, you will think of me as an exemplar of modesty."

"Well, he is a cool movie-like detective, so his arrogance can be excused." Horatio paused for a moment to give John his coffee. He then said, "So, do you want a third guy in your group? I would love to investigate crimes with you. I can be of great help!"

"How? You will be making us coffee?"

Horatio laughed as he handed John his coffee. "You shouldn't underestimate me. I've watched lot of police TV shows. Plus my coffee-making skills are imrpessive as you can personally attest to."

"I doubt he will want another person following him around. He is not really a peoples person. I will mention you however."

"Thanks dude!"

As John was about to leave, Horatio shouted him to stop. "Emily told me to say hi!" he exclaimed. "I almost forgot about it. She is on town for the week. She came by here this morning."

"Emily?!" John said. "You waited until now to tell me?"

"Easy tiger! She is with a boyfriend."

John sighed. "Send her my greetings. I'll focus on the investigation to take off my mind from her."

'Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned her...' Horatio thought.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When John returned to the apartment, he found Sherlock on his laptop, looking at the photo of a young couple on Instagram. The man was of average height, slim, with short black hair and beard. The woman was a tall blonde. John approached to take a closer look at the two of them.

"Who are they?" he asked. "The guy must be Lex, right?"

"Indeed! The lady is Miss Agne. She was Mr. Robeck's last girlfriend before Miss Stern. Guess what? She too was murdered. Her murderer was never found."

"You think he is the murderer?"

"Think about it; his last two girlfriends have been murdered. Both murders were made to look like burglaries gone wrong. In both cases no DNA of the murderer or fingertips were found. The similarities are for too many for this to be a simple coincidence. He has also stated in his Facebook profile that he loves reading crime fiction and in a comment he boasted that he could commit the perfect murder."

"Should we call the Captain?" John asked.

"Unfortunately we do not have enough evidence to back our claim. We cannot even prove that he had an affair with Miss Stern; the both of them seem to have been pretty careful about their affair. Most likely in order to not enrage Miss Stern's boyfriend. We will need solid evidence in order to convince the Captain that he is our guy."

"So? Are we going to let this guy get away with murder?"

Sherlock smiled. "Of course not! I assume you have brought the car from the repair shop, right?"

"Yes..."

"Then we are going to do a stakeout outside of Mr. Robeck's house."

John sighed. "Fine. I need to take my mind off something anyway... Do you think we will be able to find out anything about this guy or will this be a waste our time?"

"I have a way to make sure that we can confirm if he is our murderer or not. I will tell you on the way. Also, tell your friend that I do not want another person following me around."

"What?" John asked. He then remembered Horatio's request. "Ah yes! How did you know that?"

Sherlock smiled. "Well, it was easy. When we were breaking into Mr. Jackson's house, you were talking to a friend. That friend, whose name is Horatio if I saw correctly the name on the screen of your phone when he called you, was enthusiastic about my work and asked you to allow him to accompany me. When we left the shopping mall, you mentioned that you were going to Horatio's Café. I assumed that this was the same Horatio. So, it was easy to guess that he would ask you to join us in our investigation."

"Wow..." John had thought that by now he would have gotten used to Sherlock's remarkable observations but he was wrong. This eccentric detective kept amazing him.

The two friends made their way out of the apartment and the building and headed to John's car. The doctor's car was a blue Smart Fortwo car, a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seater hatchback Microcar.

"So, what do you think?" a smiling John asked.

Sherlock gave an awkward smile. "Well, can't say that I am impressed. It does look somewhat...small?"

"It may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts," John replied, quoting Han Solo from Star Wars IV. "I always wanted to use that line!"

Sherlock and John got into the car. Sherlock told John the address of Lex's home and he began driving. "So," John said, "how exactly will you confirm if he is our guy?"

"Wait a moment," Sherlock nonchalantly replied as he texted a message. Once he had texted it, he showed it to John. It read, 'I know you killed Penelope Agne and Johanna Stern. I also know how you killed them. There will be RETRIBUTION!'

"You texted that to a murderer?!" John screamed. "What if he finds out that it is you who texted him? He will murder us! Oh God, we are dead!"

"Don't worry. I texted him from a disposable phone. I have plenty of them for cases just like this," Sherlock replied. "Now, please hurry to his house. We need to watch how he reacts to that text. If he is our killer, then he will become worried. He will panic. He will try to find out who may have knowledge of his crimes. He shall then be vulnerable. We will play with his mind and prove that he is a murderer. The time has come for the game to begin!"

"Let's hope neither of us will be punched this time..."


	4. The Art of Deduction - Part 4

"There!" John shouted. "That's our guy!"

Lex walked out of the grey building, clearly nervous with his face pale and cold sweat on his forehead, and headed to his car, a BMW i8. He entered inside and turned on the engine. Upon seeing the car, John whistled. "Nice car..."

"We need to follow him," Sherlock said.

"Follow him? Follow a dangerous murderer!?"

Sherlock nodded. John simply sighed and began slowly following the car, making sure to keep some distance so as to not be spotted. Soon enough, they headed out of town and to the countryside. Some hours later, with the sky turning darker as day was giving way to night, the BMW i8 stopped nearby a forest. Lex got out of the car and into the woods.

Sherlock and John followed Lex in there. They stepped on their toes and moved slowly but steadily, hiding behind trees when necessary, to avoid being spotted. The man walked forward whistling, probably in an attempt to calm down, not knowing that he was being followed by the two investigators. Soon enough, Lex reached a wooden cabin.

"Why is he going there?" John asked.

"He got there right after taking the text, so it must have something to do with the murder. My guess is that he must have hid there his equipment he used to stage the fake robberies and his murder weapon. They are the only items that can link him to the murders."

"Why not dispose of it?"

"Most likely he planed to murder again some time in the future. That's why he did not dispose of the weapon and equipment after the first murder and used them in the murder of Miss Stern too; the way Miss Agne was murdered is too similar to the way Miss Stern was killed for him to have used a different weapon."

"Yes, but how are we going to prove it?" John asked. "He must surely have cleaned the knife and the equipment he used. He will anyway be disposing of them in a few moments. Even if we do prevent him from disposing them, we can't prove he used them in those two murders."

Sherlock smiled. "Dear Watson, we know we cannot prove he is guilty. Not he..."

A few moments later Lex walked out of the cabin with a knife on his hand. It was at that moment that Sherlock made his presence known. "Planning to discard of the murder weapon?" he said as he revealed himself.

"Is he nuts?!" John shouted. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had said this aloud. With an awkward smile on his face, he too made his presence known. "Hi. Nice meeting you."

Lex grinned. "You two sent me that threatening text, didn't you?"

"Yes," Sherlock replied. "I know that you killed Miss Agne and Miss Stern. I have all the evidence I need to get you in jail. You are a murderer and a bad one at that. I only needed a single day to solve the case."

Lex laughed. "Oh? If you have evidence, you would have already taken it to the police. You cannot prove anything."

"I can. The knife and equipment you have in the cabin match exactly the ones that allowed you to stage the fake robberies and murder the two innocent women."

Lex grinned. "How are you going to prove it? I have cleaned them and will be soon disposing of them. You cannot do a thing to stop me. Even if you stop me from disposing them, you will have a hard time persuading anyone that I am the killer. Your evidence are circumstantial and based on guessing. I have committed the perfect crime twice and you cannot prove it."

"Of course they will not believe me... but they might believe you." Sherlock showed him his phone. He had recorded their conversation. Click! "I just sent it to Captain Thomas. I am sure he will find your testimony most enlightening."

Lex, in a fit of rage, threw away the knife and clenched his fists hard. His face was red with anger and he was fuming. "I would love to keep talking to you two, but I've got to make my way out of the country!" Lex pulled a .44 Magnum and fired at Sherlock. The bullet hit Sherlock right on the chest and he collapsed on the ground.

"Sherlock!" John shouted. He was crying uncontrollably and shaking. He fell on his knees and began praying to God to save him.

"I don't think God can help you," Lex said as he aimed his gun at John. It was at this very moment that Sherlock seemingly rose from the dead and jumped at him. Utterly surprised, Lex was caught off guard and did not have time to aim his gun at Sherlock. The detective punched his fist on Lex's face, knocking him out.

John gaped in amazement. "How?"

"I have superpowers."

"What!?"

"I cannot be killed. I am... special. I have powers that make me unique."

John slapped himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "You are like... Superman?"

Sherlock began laughing almost hysterically. "You really believed that I have superpowers, didn't you?!". Opening his coat, Sherlock showed John that inside he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

"You..." John gritted his teeth. "You know, I am starting to sympathize with this Lex guy. You really think this is funny?"

Sherlock nodded.

John sighed. "How did you know he would fire you in the chest and not in the head? Or that he would admit that he is the murderer?"

"Regarding your first question, I did not. It was a calculated risk. I could very well be dead right now; I gambled and won. As for your second question, I knew that he would because of his arrogance. He is so smug, he couldn't resist boasting. If I was wrong, I would simply continue playing with his mind and convince him that I could prove his guilt in order to get him to attack me. He could be charged with that crime. "

"So you solved the case because of lucky guesses and risk taking?"

"Indeed my dear Watson."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was night. Thomas was sitting in his office. His desk was full of paperwork. He was sipping some tea. He was talking with Sherlock and John who had just brought Lex in. Lilian was there too.

"The case is thus closed," Sherlock said, finishing his recounting of the events that led to Lex's arrest. "Hopefully the next case will be more mentally challenging because this took me only a day to figure out."

Lilian groaned. "Oh yes. You are such a genius. I am sure that we could't have solved this case without you. It's not like we are perfectly capable of investigating ourselves."

"I detect some sarcasm Lilian," Sherlock replied. "I am sure that you could have solved the case. It might have taken you a week or so but you will have solved it eventually. I am certain of that."

"How kind of you..."

"Enough!" Thomas shouted. "I have a headache and I am no mood to hear you two arguing. Sherlock, thanks. Thank you too, mister Watson. You have both been of great help to our department."

John smiled. "Thanks Captain. We are your guys if you need any further help."

"We won't," Lilian hastily replied.

Sherlock simply laughed. "Ah Lilian, won't you miss me?"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John and Sherlock were lying on the couch in their apartment. They had ordered pizza and beers and were watching an old sci-fi movie. John had a hard time concentrating on the movie.

"I can tell that something is bothering you," Sherlock said. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," John lied as he opened the can of beer and began drinking.

"I know you are lying," Sherlock protested. "Come on! I am curious. Tell me more."

"You never tell me anything about your personal life. Why should I?"

"Because that's how it is. Life is unfair."

"You can be quite annoying at times, you know that?" John barked.

Sherlock laughed. "I know. It is one of my specialties."

"Alright. I will tell you," John replied as he grabbed a slice of pizza and bit it. "Emily."

"Emily?"

"Her name. When I was at med school, we were together. We..."

"Broke up?"

"Yes." John sighed. "She said she needed space. Well... she is here."

"With a boyfriend?"

John nodded in affirmation. "How did you know?"

Sherlock smiled. "That was easy. I did not need to use my art of deduction. If she was single, you would be jumping around in joy. In fact, I bet you would be out with her and not be siting here eating pizza with the eccentric guy you just met."

"I am still not over her. I always had her in my mind and when I first heard that she was here, I just had this unrealistic expectation that we could be together again and make it work this time." Before Sherlock could say anything, John began talking again. "I know I should be over her. I know that after all this time I shouldn't expect her to still have feelings for me. I do know that it is normal that she moved on with her life. But... I just can't seem to get her off my mind."

"Love is both the most beautiful and most terrible feeling a man can experience," Sherlock said. "It can bring you joy or tears."

"You know?"

Sherlock simply grabbed a slice of pizza and began to eat. He did not say a single word. John did not wish to continued the discussion either. So the two of them just relaxed, drinking beer, eating pizza and watching the movie.

"So... have you found a place for your medical practice?" Sherlock asked.

"I've been texted one and will go tomorrow to see the place," John replied.

"What if instead of opening a medical practice, we opened an investigation office? We could take cases of our own instead of just waiting for Captain Thomas."

John laughed for a brief moment before realizing Sherlock was being serious. "Really? You want me to give up my work and join you as some kind of private investigator with no guaranteed income?"

"I thought you loved the adventure and thrill of solving a case! Didn't you say the Captain that we were 'his guys'?"

"I was thinking of it more as a hobby when I don't have work to do."

"Oh come on! Do you really believe being doctor will give you the fun and excitement that solving cases does?"

"No, but it will pay the bills."

"With my reputation, we can gain ten times as much money. Back when I was in London, I used to be hired by some extremely wealthy individuals."

"Fine... I shall think about it."

"Excellent!"

Thus the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson begun...


	5. A Study in Plants - Part 1

Sherlock and John were sitting in John's blue Smart Fortwo car. John was on the driver's seat eating a hamburger while Sherlock was looking at the building opposite of their car. It was an one-storey high grey building that housed the offices of a photographer. As it was late at night, it was closed and there seemed to be no one inside.

"This photographer has better offices than us..." Sherlock remarked.

"Hey! You should be thankful that I changed my mind and agreed to turn the building I initially rented for medical practice into an investigating office," John protested. "Stop complaining. Renting a larger place would be too expensive. Not to say that we do not need a spacious office to attract clients. We opened yesterday and are already working on a case."

"Indeed... of a middle-aged lawyer asking us to spy on his twenty-three year old wife and see if she is cheating on him. How exciting! It's the crime of the century!"

"Bills don't pay themselves..."

At that moment a woman was seen walking down the road and towards the offices. She was tall and looked even taller thanks to her high heels. She had long brunnete hair and blue eyes. She had a most beautiful face and dark red lips. She was wearing a white shirt and a brown skirt.

"Wow!" John exclaimed, his burger almost falling off his hands.

"Focus," Sherlock said. "We are here on business. She is... Helen Brown, wife of Smith Brown."

"I don't think she is heading to her office for business."

"She told her husband that she would be meeting an uncle of hers."

Helen walked into the office. She could be seen waiting inside from the window wall. A moment later a man in his late forties with brown beard and hair walked inside. Despite being in his forties, he looked handsome and suave. He was tall and athletic. There was certainly no comparison with Smith, with his grey hair and belly. Sherlock and John could see Helen and the man kissing.

"I don't think this guy is her uncle..." John said. "Unless they are into some really weird stuff that is."

"I think this case has been solved, my drear Watson. Not in the way Mr. Brown would have wanted unfortunately."

"Should we call him?"

A scream was suddenly heard. Two two initially chuckled.

Sherlock looked into the offices and his expression changed at once. "Go!" he shouted and sprinted out of the car. The surprised John too rushed out of the car and followed behind his friend. He could see why Sherlock was worried; that strange man was strangling Helen. Sherlock and John ran inside the offices. Sherlock punched the man's face while John grabbed him from behind. The man had a pale complexion and seemed to be dizzy. Sherlock's punch bruised his face and John was easily able to push him on the ground.

"Keep him there!" Sherlock barked as he rushed to see if Helen was alright. He checked her lungs; there was no breathing. "She is dead..."

"What?!" John shouted. The man was still held onto the ground, unable to move, but seemed calmer than before. His face was far less pale.

"I... what... I..." he stuttered.

"You are?" Sherlock asked.

"Andrew Jones," the man replied instinctively. He seemed dizzy and confused. "Where... Helen!"

"You just killed her," John said.

"Impossible!" Andrew cried out. "I was just kissing her!"

John was trembling and clenching his fists and teeth in anger. "What a cold-hearted bastard you are! We saw you strangling her with our own eyes. We stopped you, unfortunately too late. You dare to lie right on our face like that?"

"I really do not know what happened! I... didn't know what I was doing."

"Tell that to the police."

"I've already called them," Sherlock said. "But I don't think Mr. Jones is lying."

"But we saw him with our own eyes committing the murder."

"Indeed, he did kill her but I don't think he knew what he was doing."

About ten minutes later, two police cars arrived at the scene. On the one were Captain Thomas and Lieutenant Lilian while on the other were two cops. They barged inside the offices. John was standing, holding still Andrew, while Sherlock was sitting on one of the chairs and smoking his wooden pipe. Puffs of smoke curled around his head.

"She is the victim?" Lilian asked, pointing at the body of Helen lying on the ground.

"No," Sherlock replied, "she is just lying on the floor and not breathing for fun."

"Smartass."

Sherlock simply smiled.

"Enough you two!" Thomas barked and sighed. "What happened here?"

"This guy strangled the poor woman," John said, still holding down Andrew. "We saw it with our own eyes. She is Helen Brown, wife of the famous lawyer Smith Brown. She was seeing that bastard... Andr...Andrew Jones and he killed her for no reason."

"True," Sherlock said. "But I don't think Mr. Jones knew what he was doing. He was extraordinarily pale and attacked for no reason in plain sight; the window wall means that anyone could see them. It seems too illogical for him to commit such a crime in this way."

"But you did see him strangle her, right?" Thomas asked. "It seems like a closed case to me. There are all kinds of crazies in this city."

"Can you please take Mr. Jones into the station and make a toxicology report? I believe that this crime has something to do with a drug he has taken, most likely unknowingly."

"Sherlock, why do you believe this murderer? John asked.

"Oh, I don't. I just follow my instinct."

Lilian sighed. "Hope we are not wasting time weirdo..."

"If I am right, will you buy me a coffee?"

"Is this your way of asking me out on a date freak?"

Sherlock smoked his pipe instead of replying.

"I won't take the bait," Lilian replied. "You are probably right about him being drugged."

"I certainly am but will you be going out with me?"

"In your dreams only."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early in the morning. John and Sherlock were in their apartment, in the kitchen. John was standing, sipping some coffee, while Sherlock was sitting on the table, eating eggs with bacon, sausages and a sandwich and drinking an orange juice.

"How do you eat all this stuff so early in the morning?" John asked.

"English breakfast, my dear Watson. That's how one should start one's day."

The phone ringed. John answered but soon gave it to Sherlock. "It is for you."

Sherlock grabbed it in a hurry. "Good," he said to the caller. "I was right. Send me a list with relatives and close acquaintances of Mr. Jones and do the same for Miss Brown too."

"He was drugged, wasn't he?" John asked.

"Indeed. With an extremely rare drug made out of a plant from New Zealand. I've heard about it only once before. It can cause someone after an hour or so to lose their temper and start lashing out like a madman."

"So someone drugged Andrew in order to make him kill Helen and frame him for the murder."

"Indeed; two birds with one stone. Helen is dead and Andrew ends up in jail. The mastermind behind this murder must have hated both of them."

"Do you think it might have been Smith? He has motive to hate both of them. He may have hired us so we would witness the murder and ensure that Andrew ends up in the police's hands."

Sherlock ate a slice of bacon. "That is true, my friend. Smith did have a motive to hate them and your hypothesis is a valid one. However something tells me that he isn't our killer. The one who drugged Mr. Jones must have been close to him. I doubt Mr. Jones would consume whatever weird stuff some stranger would give him. So we must investigate his social circle."

"See? This case ended up being interesting after all."

"Indeed!"


End file.
